Lower College Society Lower College Society has gone from strength to strength, with more pupils presenting than ever before. The Society is designed to stimulate and challenge College’s most able pupils to research and present upon a variety of academic topics, to think ‘outside the box’, and to reflect upon topics not explicitly covered in the curriculum. Meetings are extremely active occasions, and the past year was no exception: pupils were tasked with comparing translations, cracking codes, calculating the distance from the earth to the sun, rating celebrities on the personality scale, and much more. The year’s programme began with an exciting Model United Nations session, run entirely by Annabella Kohler (5th, Ch) and Katherine Stanton (5th, A). Then, in November, we explored the age-old problem of ‘lost in translation’, beginning with funny examples of mistranslations, before investigating religious perspectives on the translation of holy texts, and then comparing the merits of different renderings of Victor Hugo’s poem Demain, dès l’aube into English. In the Spring Term, pupils spoke on the theme of weights and measures, with Benedict Schallamach (3rd, BH) receiving a Headmaster’s Distinction for his presentation on measurement systems in the classical world. We also heard from a number of other pupils, outlining the origins of the metric metre, second and kilogram, and how the measurement of those units will change in the future, in the light of technological advancement. In March we were joined by the College Counsellor, Ms Rachel Melville-Thomas, in order to investigate the many facets of human personality. An impressive nine presenters delivered their findings on the five personality scales outlined in Daniel Nettle’s book Personality: What Makes You the Way You Are, and we watched clips of several celebrities and fictional characters to identify the main traits they displayed. In the Summer Term, Miss Carrie Smith led her final session of the Society, entitled ‘A is for Ox’, which looked at the history of the alphabet, and
how writing systems were developed across history. The running of Lower College Society is to be taken over by Dr Liz Gerry, who has a series of exciting sessions lined up, including ‘The Seven Basic Plots’, ‘Pompeii’ and ‘The Brain’. We look forward to the influx of new Third Form members, and to hearing many new presenters!
Miss Carrie Smith
Upper College Society It was the tenth year of the Upper College Society, or ‘UpColSoc’, which succeeded the ‘1992 Society’, its comparable predecessor. There were 35 contributors in total during the year, and most of the contributions were of an exceptionally high standard. The UpColSoc heard 23 members’ papers, with the lion’s share of the contributions coming from the Upper Sixth. We heard a number of thoughtfully researched papers, including Christopher Bowring’s (U6, S) on the East India Company, Laurence Pemberton’s (U6, S) on Belshazzar’s Feast, Julia Schaff’s (L6, Ch) on non-stereotypical Germany, and Andrey Gusak’s (U6, BH) on Renaissance painting. Scientific themes were greatly in evidence, with the presenters taking care to remain understandable to non-scientists: Georgina Bond (U6, Q) spoke on Genetics, Alexander Hilditch (U6, S) rendered comprehensible the carbohydrate shield of HIV, and Glenn Edwards (U6, S) presented on the wonder material, graphene. We heard a range of travellers’ tales, usually memorable because of the photographs, including William Martin’s (U6, NH) and James White’s (U6, Xt) report on Nepal, and Amy Foulkes (U6, Q) and James, again, on their cycling tour. Psychological themes proved exceptionally popular with presenters, and it was very good to hear Sophie Caws (L6, Q) and Bethan Morris (L6, Q) talking compellingly about autism, Maisy King (U6, Q) discussing the diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), James Jamieson-Black (L6, H) explaining sport psychology, Amelia Orchard-Smith (U6, Ch) proposing the value of music therapy, Isabella Highton’s (L6, W) and Olivia Clayton’s (L6, A) memorable paper on the consequences for Genie of her isolated childhood, and Miranda Bruce-Smith (L6, Q), Catriona Brown (L6, Q) and Georgina Gardner (L6, Q) de-mystifying some details of the advertising techniques to which we are all exposed. No season of papers to the UpColSoc could be complete without the airing of special interests, the efforts to persuade, and the release of strong opinions: thanks to Hugo Chambers (U6, Xt) for the case for quitting the European Union, William Martin for his warnings about the consequences of foreign aid, Nelson Bacon (U6, H) for berating us about badgers, and Douglas McEvoy (U6, S) for backing fracking. Presenting a paper to the UpColSoc is a demanding challenge, and those who took it up deserve our grateful thanks. They have given themselves a valuable experience, which should help them at university.
30
The Cheltonian 2013-2014
Following its inaugural success last year, we had two ‘Question Time’ fora, with the panellists engaging with questions on a variety of issues, such as health, gender, multiculturalism and foreign policy. Although the first meeting had the dubious distinction of attracting the smallest ever UpColSoc attendance, the panel and the audience were numerically evenly matched and that in fact helped the discussion to flow freely, preparing the way for a larger meeting later in the year. Christopher Bowring served on both panels, fielding questions about US and Russian activities with great expertise. Glenn had a great deal to say and kept matters bubbling, while Eric Robinson (L6, S) contributed memorably. There were lively and well-informed contributions from Georgina Bond, Maisy King, Hugo Chambers, Pippa Hughes (U6, Q), Georgina O’Reilly (L6, Ch), Sophie Caws, Nelson Bacon (U6, H), William Martin and James White. A key ingredient to the success of both evenings was the chairmanship, a role fulfilled with great authority and perception by Laurence Pemberton and Hugo Chambers, both of whom kept the discussions well paced and engaging, and preserved peace and good order. There were only six ‘performers’ in the year, perhaps reflecting that the Variety Show provides another forum. Ruta Drungilaite (U6, W) and Andrey Gusak performed Summertime, Oliver Cookson (L6, L) performed Esmerelda by Ben Howard, and Francesca Ball (L6, Ch), Caitlin Christopher (L6, A) and Amelia Orchard-Smith (U6, Ch) brought the final meeting to its close with their own beautiful arrangement of Only Love. The quality of those contributions made up for the quantity, but it does also highlight an important issue for the Society. Mr Tom Haggie (2007‑2009, S), an alumni of the UpColSoc who took a First in History at Peterhouse College, Cambridge, and is currently studying for the Bar, kindly agreed to return to speak at the Contributors’ Dinner about the role of the European Court of Human Rights. Tom highlighted the power that the court exercised to develop the law in a way which was sometimes beyond parliamentary scrutiny, with implications for sovereignty. He provoked and answered many searching questions, completing a memorable celebration of the UpColSoc’s year. When the UpColSoc began ten years ago, it is fair to say there were few other opportunities for Sixth Form students to present papers, hold discussions or debates, or to offer performances in the variety of ways we saw in our meetings. Now College has evolved, the Variety Show and other reviews provide regular fora, while most Departments have societies of their own, often doing what the UpColSoc did first. Perhaps it is time to review and re-invent the UpColSoc: that is a task for our successor, as we now step down from our role as convenors, with grateful thanks to the current members and many happy memories of the 70 or so meetings that we have so enjoyed over the years.
Dr Martin Jones and Miss Jo Doidge-Harrison